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“No worries. He’s a great kid.”
Okay, that settled it. Keaton was officially themayorof Swoonville. The fastest way to Avery’s heart was through Jacob. Not that Keaton needed any help getting into Avery’s heart. He’d moved in five years ago and she’d been trying to evict him ever since, but it was proving to be impossible.
She needed to get out of there immediately before she did something ridiculous like confessing her undying love for Keaton Savage.
“Jacob, come on, it’s time for lunch.”
“But Mama—"
“Jacob,” she said his name in a warning tone to let him know she meant business.
Jacob sighed and his shoulders dropped as he walked over to her.
“Bye, little man,” Keaton said as he ruffled Jacob’s hair.
“Bye, Mr. Keaton. Bye, Mr. Vic.” Jacob waved halfheartedly.
“Adios, muchacho!” Vic enthused.
“Bye,” she said to Keaton.
As she walked away, Jacob was talking about how big his muscles were going to be when he grew up and she was trying to pay attention. But really, all she could think about was the way the tiny hairs on the back of her neck were standing up, which happened when Keaton stared at her.
She turned back, and sure enough his gaze was fixed on her. A blush rose on her cheeks, and she smiled. That man was way too potent for his own good. Or actually, for her own good.
9
Avery stretchedher arms above her head and shut her laptop. Her sight was bleary as she checked the time. It was nearly eleven. Today, just like yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that had flown by.
It felt like her life was flying by. Jacob would be five in two months. It was like she’d blinked, and he’d gone from being a baby to starting school next year. She was scared that the next time she blinked he was going to be in high school, then college.
She needed to make some changes in her life. Her breakup had been a wake-up call. All of Jacob’s life, Avery had been working ten, twelve, sometimes sixteen-hour days five to seven days a week. That had to stop.
First thing tomorrow, she was going to hand in her resignation to Jude’s parents. As much as she loved the people that she worked with, she couldn’t keep up the schedule that her position in the company demanded.
She hadn’t immediately stepped down after calling off the wedding because she thought one life-altering decision per week was probably for the best. Last week, she decided not to get married. This week, she’d decided to resign from her job. And next week, maybe she’d decide where she and Jacob were going to live.
As much as she loved Whisper Lake, and was enjoying being more hands-on at Stone Castle, she wasn’t sure this place was the right fit for her. Not to make everything about a man, but if Keaton did meet the love of his life on this show and settle down with her in town, staying there would be torture.
Or maybe it wouldn’t. Maybe the tight-knit community would make up for unrequited love. Her emotions were all over the place which was why she was limiting her life-altering decisions to one per week.
She stood from the kitchen table, where she’d been working and caught her reflection in the glass French doors that led out to the back patio. She looked rough. Some women could pull off the messy bun look, hers just looked like a rat’s nest perched on the top of her head. The dark circles that had taken up permanent residency beneath her eyes were beginning to look like she’d just lost a fight.
Thankfully, her appearance had never been that important to her. She was much more concerned with things that actually mattered, like Jacob, her career, and being a good, honest, hardworking person to set an example for him.
Speaking of Jacob, she just realized that she hadn’t said goodnight to him. She wondered when he’d gone to bed. Avery was headed back to his room to kiss his forehead when she discovered he hadn’t. He was in the living room, lying on his stomach on the floor in front of the TV, drawing. The past few weeks his sleeping schedule had been all over the place because of going from California to Florida, then to Illinois. After all the excitement of the almost wedding, five days at Disneyworld, and then coming to stay at a real-life castle he’d started napping again and staying up late. She knew that she needed to remedy that soon, but she wasn’t going to beat herself up for letting it get out of control.
She was honestly doing the best she could.
“That’s a nice picture,” Avery commented as she turned off the TV. She figured she’d ease him into announcing it was bedtime.
“It’s the dragon on Keaton’s arm. It’s so cool!”
Of course it was. During dinner tonight, Jacob had not stopped talking about Keaton. The man had made quite an impression on her son. It didn’t surprise her that Keaton’s classes were popular, she remembered during the short time they’d spent together that dogs and kids loved him. They flocked to him.
She remembered one time when they were down by the lake a kid ran up to him to ask him for his help, which he gave him. The kid’s mom came over and it was clear to Avery that she was using her son as an in to speak and flirt with him. She’d teased him about it later that night and he’d told her that he would never date a single mom because of how he’d grown up. His exact words had been, “My mom went through men like toilet paper, and all they were good for was shit.” He’d said that only one was a good guy, but that was almost worse because he’d missed him so much when their relationship inevitably ended. He said he’d never put a kid through what he went through.
Holy shit.She’d completely forgotten about that. Keaton didn’t date single moms. That was another reason she’d never even considered telling him she was pregnant.
